It's an all-too-common problem once you hit thirty: Despite your best efforts, you just can't seem to lose the extra weight around your middle, and you look in the mirror wondering what month and year you lost your waistline. Medical research proves you're not alone--that the average American gains one to two pounds a year after age thirty--usually around the stomach. Not only does this excess belly fat make you look and feel bad, it's the most damaging kind of fat; a precursor to heart attacks and certain types of cancer.

Another imbalance that plagues the abs is between the obliques, the muscles that cinch your sides. You have two sets on both your right and left, and if you show them love, they'll give you a nice hourglass shape. Sadly, your left obliques start out at a disadvantage, says Hahn. Blame your heart, which takes up extra space and makes the obliques difficult to tone—an issue that's compounded if you're right-handed. "Think about where your mouse pad is," says Hahn. "Then you shake hands, change the radio station in the car—you do so much with your right side, making it stronger."

Very happy with the results, I incorporated my own food tastes and mixed them with lots of veggies, fruit, kale, spinach and romaine lettuce, a huge salad everyday, no sugar, no white flower, no bread other than 100% wheat a couple times a week, cut out soda entirely. Greek yogurt every day, berries, only sweeten with honey. Old fashioned rolled oats, etc etc. I didn't use any of the recipes, too complicated, and costly too! I have lost 30 lbs from January 5th to now. I didn't exercise the first 2 months wanted to make sure I was losing from the food. I then started walking 2-5 miles 3 times a week - 15 pounds to go to my goal.